Approximately 10,000 students displaced by Hurricane Dorian are expected to register at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium to be reassigned to schools in New Providence.
The registration process began on Thursday and includes assistance from the Ministries of Social Services, Youth Sports and Culture and the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
Minister of Education Jeffrey Lloyd said in a press release that “no child in The Bahamas should be at risk of dropping out of school because of Dorian”.
“As a nation, we will not let this happen. Our paramount concern is to make sure all students are back to school as soon as possible. After the devastating impact left by Hurricane Dorian, education is our best investment and a cornerstone of the whole reconstruction process. Dorian may have put us on our knees, but education will bring us back on our feet,” Lloyd added.
Senior Nursing Officer and School Health Coordinator Sherry Armbrister discussed the procedure for those children who have lost their immunization records.
“The ones who do not have their cards, we’re doing what we call catch up immunization. So each child will get immunization based on their age level,” she said.
“We have different stations set up for our screening immunization. So our process is moving very smoothly.”
At the stadium, Cooper’s Town resident Rosemary Russell came to register her two grandchildren.
“They’re asking like for documents, but we don’t have that and no communication on the island in Abaco. You can’t call the schools because some of the schools are damaged,” Russell expressed.
“So that is going to be a hold up for them entering school. I don’t think they should look at it like that. You know, try put the children in school and if they can get their cards from the other school, maybe later down in the months or whatever weeks.
“But I don’t think they should keep the children out of school because you don’t have your documents. I came with clothes on my back. I still don’t have no clothes. My clothes still in Abaco and I’m in Nassau.”
UNICEF will assist the government with providing education for displaced students.
UNICEF Regional Chief of Communication in Latin America and the Caribbean Laurent Duvillier said families have lost so much and the last thing they want is for them to lose education for their children.
“UNICEF is supporting in different ways. Data management systems will also help in terms of expertise and we’re also providing training today for teachers and school counselors in how to provide psycho-social support for those children,” Duvillier said.
“It’s not so easy to know how to handle those kids because we are talking about children who’ve went through very traumatic experiences. Some of them don’t want to talk about that.
“They need to overcome their difficulties so today we are starting training with trainers with the Ministry of Education to make sure that the teachers and the school counselors across the country will have the right systems to respond to the need of those displaced children.”
Registration continues until October 2.
After Hurricane Dorian, 5,500 people evacuated Abaco and Grand Bahama, based on NEMA’s count.
